Trump’s Indian-origin cyber chief uploaded critical files to ChatGPT, report claims
While ChatGPT access remained restricted for other Department of Homeland Security employees, Gottumukkala reportedly pushed CISA to grant him permission to use the tool. According to the report, he later misused that access.
The interim head of the US cyber defense agency, the very agency tasked with protecting government secrets, uploaded sensitive contracting documents to the public version of ChatGPT after taking charge of the agency last summer.
According to a report by Politico, the actions of Madhu Gottumukkala, the acting director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), triggered several automated security warnings designed to prevent the theft or inadvertent disclosure of government information from federal networks.
Gottumukkala’s unusual lapse in judgment was particularly noteworthy because, according to the report, he had obtained special permission from the CISA Chief Information Officer’s office to use the popular AI tool after joining the agency this May.
All information uploaded by Gottumukkala to the public version of ChatGPT is shared with OpenAI, the owner of the AI tool, meaning it could be used to help train the app to respond to prompts from other users. OpenAI’s app has over 700 million active users.
At the time, the use of ChatGPT was blocked for other Department of Homeland Security employees.
The report states that Gottumukkala “forced CISA to give him ChatGPT, and then he misused it.”
Confidential data has been uploaded
Politico reported that none of the files Gottumukkala uploaded to ChatGPT were classified, but the material included CISA contracting documents marked “For Official Use Only,” the government designation for information considered sensitive and not intended for public release. The publication reported that CISA’s cybersecurity sensors flagged these uploads multiple times in August, prompting an internal review to determine if the exposures compromised government security, citing Department of Homeland Security officials familiar with the incident.
It was unclear what the review concluded.
CISA Public Affairs Director Marcy McCarthy said in a statement to Politico that Gottumukkala was “authorized to use ChatGPT with DHS controls” for “short-term and limited” use.
McCarthy emphasized that the agency is “committed to using AI and other cutting-edge technologies to modernize government and fulfill President Trump’s executive order on advancing American leadership in AI.”
However, a CISA email questioned the timeline of Politico’s reporting, stating, “Acting Director Dr. Madhu Gottumukkala last used ChatGPT under an authorized temporary exemption granted to a limited number of employees in mid-July 2025.
CISA’s security posture remains to block access to ChatGPT by default unless an exemption is granted.”
Who is Madhu Gottumukkala?
Gottumukkala, of Indian origin, is currently the most senior political appointee at CISA, a federal agency tasked with protecting government networks from sophisticated, state-sponsored hackers from adversarial nations like Russia and China.
With over 24 years of experience in information technology (IT), he holds a PhD in Information Systems from Dakota State University, an MBA in Engineering and Technology Management from the University of Dallas, an MS in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Andhra University.
Gottumukkala has been leading CISA in an acting capacity since May, when he was appointed Deputy Director by DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.
Trump’s nominee for CISA head, DHS Special Advisor Sean Plankey, was held up last year over a Coast Guard shipbuilding contract. A date for his new confirmation hearing has not yet been set.
